You’ve all probably seen a post or two setting the record straight regarding the origins of St. Patrick’s Day. If you missed the onslaught of facts these last couple of days and are still sober enough to read them (here’s hoping) – I’ll highlight some of my favorites here:

“11 Simple Ways To Not Be a Terrible Person in 2015” “Have a Mind-Meltingly Good Year By Following This One Weird (Possibly Illegal) Trick” “Achieve Total Global Domination In The Next 52 Weeks!“ “Click On This Horrifically Misleading Image to Learn 17 Mediocre Hacks That We’ve Impulsively Labeled as ‘Genius’” … Continue reading →

Crucifixion. Invented by the Persians. Adapted by Alexander the Great. Passed on to the Carthaginians. Perfected by the Romans. Jewish historian Josephus called crucifixion – “the most wretched of deaths.” Roman philosopher Cicero forbade even the thought of it by stating, “Far be the very name of the cross, not only from the body, but … Continue reading →

“11 Simple Ways To Not Be a Terrible Person in 2014” “Have a Mind-Meltingly Good Year By Following This One Weird (Possibly Illegal) Trick” “Achieve Total Global Domination These Next 52 Weeks!“ Well, interwebs – it’s happened again. We’ve sauntered into a new year and brought a blitzkrieg of “good” advice with us. The band … Continue reading →

Oxford Dictionaries announced “Selfie” as the international “Word of the Year 2013” yesterday; noting its frequency in the English language has increased by 17,000% since last year. According to Oxford Dictionaries, the word “selfie” first appeared in 2002, when it was used in an Australian online forum. It was popularized by social media during the years … Continue reading →

My world shakes. Literally. I was born with a neurological defect that causes my eyes to rapidly shake back and forth – all of the time. From what I understand, doctors believe that this strange shaking is the result of trauma to my brain during birth. To the best of their knowledge, the culprit is … Continue reading →

This is not a post about gun control. It is not a post about policy. It is not even a post about violence. “More than 25 Dead, Including 18 Children, in Connecticut Elementary School Shooting” When I read the above headline, though, I simply could not contain my tears. I still can’t – but I … Continue reading →

I feel a bit like a political refugee. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I feel a bit like a legislative vagrant in a post-religious-right America, roving the dimly lit streets without a real home to lay my head. Most times it’s difficult to ignore the notion that under it … Continue reading →

Remember the good old days when you could eat a sleeve of Oreos or twelve chicken sandwiches and were simply called an unruly slob without the fear of being labeled a zealot, bigot, or extremist? This one may get me into a bit of trouble. I must first admit that I am (like many of … Continue reading →

I am a coward. That might be a bit melodramatic, but the thought certainly crosses my mind from time to time. My cowardice isn’t uncovered in the ways you would traditionally think either. Jumping out of planes, off of bridges, or out of cars doesn’t really scare me – I don’t find heights or depths … Continue reading →

Interwebs – you’ve done it again. The information super-highway is all a buzz with discussions about the organization Invisible Children and their most recent viral video phenomenon – KONY 2012. With over 10 million views in less than two days, this video has sparked quite a bit of discussion. Actually, “sparked” probably isn’t even the … Continue reading →

I grew up in a corner house. Now, this meant a lot of things for me as a child. Things a normal adult human might not think of. For example, this meant that our cardio-minded neighbors spotted us during our sunrise kickboxing sessions atop our trampoline, as we were accustomed to doing after spending the … Continue reading →

I adore my grandmother. I actually don’t ever call her that. My name for her ever since I was two years old has been “Fram-Fram”. In fact, that was the exact name I called my grandfather by as well. When I addressed letters to the both of them, I began them like this: Dearest Fram … Continue reading →

I was homeschooled. There is little I can do to keep you from drawing certain jaundiced conclusions based on the above sentence. In fact, some of you are probably judging me right now. I can’t say that I blame you – I do the same thing to other homeschoolers and I’m sort of getting used … Continue reading →

Yes – another throwback from 2009: I think gyms are mostly comical. Not completely, but predominately. For a lot of men, they’re like a masculine catwalk with metallic obstacles – to make it more manly of course. I often see guys wearing their workout edition daisy-dukes and dental floss t-shirts, parading back and forth throughout … Continue reading →